Mrs. Sobanski's Third Grade Class: November 2014

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

November 11, 2014

Here is Lucie and Anshul with this week's class news...

Be sure to check out the link below for the Nonfiction November competition going on now in the LMC:

Sunday, November 2, 2014

This week in reading the students learned about word-solving strategies (things to do when they come to a word they don't know). Some of the strategies included: using context clues, using background knowledge and/or thinking about the root word, and reading on for more information. The students practiced using these strategies during Readers' Workshop and guided reading.

In honor of Halloween, the students also learned about fictional story elements (character, setting, plot) before writing their own spooky story. Mrs. Como used the book, Room on the Broom, as a model.

Math

This week, the class learned about perimeter and area. The class also reviewed line plots (including minimum, maximum, range, mode, and median). The students engaged in centers on Thursday only, as this unit has many lengthy whole class lessons.

Science

The class is just about done with their moon observations. This coming week they will discuss the patterns and talk about the names of the moon shapes. Then the class will learn about the constellations and will begin their planet research.

Language Arts

In WEX this week, the class worked on showing with action words (verbs). They brainstormed a large list of strong verbs and used them in their writing to make it more appealing to the reader.

A bonus writing activity this week was to write a spooky story, making sure to include fictional story elements: characters, setting, beginning, middle (problem), end (solution). After the students watched Mrs. Como fill out a graphic organizer for the book, Room on the Broom, the students had the chance to fill out an organizer for their own story. On Halloween the students then read their story out loud during a candlelight Author's Chair set to spooky music.

We finished up our study of common and proper nouns with a fun Mad Lib activity- the class had a blast with this! Our next mini unit will be on singular and plural nouns.

Extras

Thank you to the Room Reps for such a wonderful Halloween party! The students searched for hidden pumpkins in the room, played some fun games in the commons, and ate a delicious snack to top it off. We appreciate all the planning and preparation that went into the party.

Important Information

The October Reading Calendar is due November 3.

Fall Conference Preference Forms are due November 3.

Picture retakes are Friday, November 7.

Pretty soon, the students will be taking over the class news! This helps to create ownership of the students' learning. Each week, I will randomly select two students to write/record the class news, and you will be able to view it on our blog as a video. Stay tuned!

Halloween Pictures